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Marina could see nothing. Feel nothing. The blindfold was tight, the restraints on her wrists even tighter.

She had no idea where she was. She had been bundled into Ben’s waiting car. He had held the knife at Maddy’s throat the whole time. Threatened to cut her if Marina didn’t co-operate. Marina had to swallow all her instincts and do as she was told. For Maddy’s sake. She knew what Ben was capable of. Gwilym’s body on the floor was proof.

Maddy tied Marina up at knifepoint. Then Ben did the same to Maddy. Ben’s car was a 4x4. He put Maddy and Marina in the back, told them to lie down and covered them with something. Then he drove off. Marina tried to do that thing she had seen in films, where the captive remembers the route he’s been taken by all the noises on the way. That and a combination of measuring. Eight seconds, car turns right. Thirteen seconds, car stops. Probably at a junction. Listen: noise of a pedestrian crossing. Seventeen seconds, car goes forward. Then round a corner, probably left. She soon became confused, not being able to tell one distance from the next, one pedestrian crossing from another. And then Ben started playing music, which disorientated her even further.

Eventually the car came to rest and Marina felt the blanket being pulled back. Hands grabbed her, hauled her from the car. Made her walk. She barely had any balance and was terrified. She couldn’t see, couldn’t hear and had no idea where she was being led. Eventually she came to a standstill and the hands disappeared.

‘Wait here,’ a voice said. Then laughed. ‘Like you’ve got a choice.’

She heard a door close.

Then nothing.

‘Maddy?’ Marina’s voice was small, tentative. Just in case she was on her own. Or worse, left with Ben. ‘Maddy? You there?’

‘Yes…’ Maddy’s reply was equally tentative. ‘I’m here…’

Marina felt relief at that. At least he’d kept them together. That was something.

‘Can you… can you see anything?’ she asked.

‘No. I’m still blindfolded. What about you?’

‘Nothing.’ Marina sighed. ‘Have you any idea where we are? Where he might have brought us?’

‘No, none. No idea. He’s… he’s not who I thought he was… Oh God, oh God…’

Marina heard sobbing. She didn’t blame the girl, but she knew enough to know that crying wasn’t going to be helpful in getting them out of there. ‘Listen, Maddy, I know you’re upset. I know this is…’ She sighed again. ‘I know. But you’ve got… Listen to me… you’ve got to be stronger than that. We have to find a way out of here. We have to.’

‘I kn-know, but… but… it’s just… they never tell you, never prepare you, no one does…’

‘What d’you mean?’

She spoke through her sobs. ‘When I started university, they g-gave us all a lecture about b-being raped. And they said stuff, you know: if someone grabs you, s-stamp on their instep, it b-breaks the little bones in their foot, and then run… or, or head-butt them, bridge of the nose if you can…’ She sighed. ‘N-never anything about this…’

‘No, Maddy, no one can give you a lecture warning you about something like this. But come on. We have to get out of here. We will get out of here.’ Marina hoped she sounded more confident than she felt. ‘Now listen to my voice, can you hear me?’

‘Y-yes…’

‘Good. Keep listening. And come towards me. Can you? Come on. Walk towards my voice.’

She heard movement. Slow and tentative, matching Maddy’s voice when she had first spoken.

‘Good girl, good. Keep on coming… good…’

She felt Maddy walk into her.

‘Oops. Good. You’re here. Well done. You made it. Now. We have to try and find a way out of these things. Can you do that?’

Maddy started to cry again.

‘Maddy, please. Keep it together. Come on. We can do this. Now… I know your hands are behind your back, but feel your way round me until you’ve got your back to me. Can you do that?’

‘I’ll… Yes. I will.’

Marina felt fingers on her waist. Small movements, like mouse footprints, as Maddy made her way round her, until she eventually reached the position Marina wanted.

‘OK. Good,’ said Marina. ‘Now. We don’t know how long we’ve got. So what I want you to do is try and find my wrists. The restraints, they’re leather and they’ve got buckles like a belt. I want you to feel where that buckle is on my wrists and undo it. Can you do that?’

‘I’ll… I’ll try…’

‘Good girl. Course you can.’ Marina felt hands on her wrists. Scrabbling fingers working at the restraints. ‘That’s it, you can do it…’

She heard Maddy grunting with the effort.

‘You’re doing great. Keep going…’

She didn’t know how long she stood there. It could have been seconds, minutes or hours. All she was aware of was Maddy’s fingers working on her wrists. Her fingers trying to get a purchase on the leather, pull it out, pull it through…

Then nothing.

‘Maddy?’

She heard sobbing again.

‘It’s no good, I… I can’t do it…’

‘Yes you can, Maddy. You can. You can do it. Now come on, try again…’

She felt fingers on her wrists, then they were violently pulled away. ‘I can’t, it’s no good, I can’t…’

Marina swallowed down her first response, which wasn’t very complimentary. Instead she kept herself calm, her voice steady. Shouting’s not going to help, she thought. Giving in to this isn’t going to help.

‘Come on, Maddy, try again. Or let me try on you…’

Maddy pushed her wrists up against Marina’s. Marina tried to undo the clasp.

She sighed. It wasn’t easy.

But she had to keep trying. Because there was no alternative.